In Buffy’s first week as the school’s guidance counsellor, she encounters a student who believes she is going to die this Friday. When Buffy believes she’s precognitive, the Scoobies try to find out what maybe the cause and how to prevent it.

The headstone on Tara's grave reads that she died on May 7, 2002. This is the same day the episode "Seeing Red" in which she died, aired on UPN.

Willow confesses to having posted Doogie Howser fan fiction on the internet. Coincidentally, her next project after this show is playing the role of Lilly on How I Met Your Mother alongside Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris.

The advertisement UPN used to promote this episode referred to it as "Buffy the Guidance Counselor."

Emma Caulfield does not appear in this episode.

Episode Quotes

Dawn: You know, I'm not the shortest one here. I don't know why I had to be in the kid coffin.

Buffy: So, Josh, what's on your mind?Josh: Well, I'm worried that I'm... gay.Buffy: Okay, first of all, I... I think it's great that you would come and talk to me about this. And second of all, you should know that there is nothing shameful about being gay. Nothing.Josh: I-I know. It's just... I'm not positive, so, uh, I was thinking that... why don't you go on, uh, a date with me so I can be sure.

Principal Wood: I kept telling everyone that he'd better sleep with one eye open 'cause I was gonna bust his ass. Well, I got suspended. Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from. Buffy: The hood? Principal Wood: Beverly Hills... (thinks) which is a hood.

Buffy: There's Willow. There's the looming humongo bad. And it's a school night. I should be home in bed, cuddled up to my insomnia, and worrying about how I'm gonna mess up tomorrow.

Dawn: You'll be fine. You'll be a great counselor.Buffy: It's my first week actually talking to the kids. What if their problems are all weird and tricky?Xander: I think you underestimate your familiarity with the world of weird and tricky. This job's perfect for you.

Buffy: You know, it's awful... being teased. But the thing is, you know, with bullies like this, they're really just--Amanda: Insecure? Yeah, everyone says that. You know, I'm really tired of everyone being so insecure.

Xander: I bet she's giving them great advice.Willow: Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them. I just wish she believed it. She's still stressing over the whole "dropped out of college, not actually qualified" thing. Plus the salivating hellmouth underneath her feet and the whole--Xander: From beneath you, it devours. It's not the friendliest jingle, is it? It's no "I like Ike" or "Milk: it does a body good."

Cassie: It's just that I'm not graduating from high school.Buffy: Why not?Cassie: I really like that shirt. Where'd you get it?Buffy: Cassie, don't change the subject. Why won't you graduate?Cassie: Because next Friday I'm gonna die.

Xander: Okay, death is really on her brain. Dawn: We all deal with death. Xander: This girl isn't just dealing, she's giving death a long, sloppy word-kiss. She has a yen for the big dirt-nap. Willow: I don't know. I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day. Xander: Love poems? Willow: I'm over you now, sweetie. Xander: Love poems! Willow: Look, all I'm saying is that this is normal teen stuff. You join chat rooms, you write poetry, you post Doogie Howser fan-fic. It's all normal, right?

When Dawn is at school talking to Cassie, her hair is straight. However, when she arrives at the house, her hair is curly.

Cultural References

Xander: It's not the friendliest jingle, is it? It's no 'I like Ike' or 'Milk, it does a body good.

"I Like Ike" was used as the Presidential campaign slogan for Dwight David Eisenhower during the 1952 elections. He went on to win that election and also served a second term.
"Milk, it does a body good," on the other hand, was the slogan for America's National Dairy Board used in the '80s.

Cassie: Hmm. Or a sexy hula girl who wiggles when you flex?

This is a reference to the Nickelodeon series, The Adventures of Pete & Pete. In the series, Little Pete had a tattoo of a hula girl on his arm who he named Petunia. And upon flexing his muscle, she would dance. Michelle Trachtenberg also happened to be a regular on this series.

Buffy: I bet it's because you forgot the boom box playing some heavy metal thing like...Blue Clam Cult?

This is a reference to the heavy metal rock band, Blue Oyster Cult. They are best known for their hit "Don't Fear the Reaper."

Willow:(about Cassie) Have you Google'd her yet?"

This is a reference to Google, a popular search engine used to find information on the Internet.